Family
by Emme2589
Summary: WALL-E brings the other EVE Probes to life and they all come together and form an unlikely bond. After an old enemy comes and declares war on the members of the Axiom, they learn what it means to be a family. Mentions of self-deprecation and torture.
1. Prologue

**SEVERAL WEEKS AGO...**

John and Mary walked together hand-in-hand while WALL-E and EVE shared a knowing glance. They hurried to greet them.

"Hello!" EVE said.

"Hey hey! It's Wall-E and Eve!" John exclaimed, "So how're things?"

"We're doing well." EVE replied, "Wall-E is healthy as ever!"

He glared at her as if to say, _What's that supposed mean?_

"Hahaha! Well, that's good to hear..."

"Hey! Both of you!" Mary exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly, "Guess what!? We have great news!"

EVE giggled at her demeanor, "Oh?"

"Tell em, honey." John said with a side glance.

"Me and John are engaged!" Mary squealed.

EVE and WALL-E shared a questioning glance.

"What does that mean?"

"You don't know? Well, let me tell you!" Mary showed off her left hand, which had a shiny ring on it, "We're going to get married."

"Marriage is a pact humans make to each other, promising to stay devoted to them forever and love them and no one else, no matter what." John stepped in, "Our marriage is the first one since humanity went into space!"

"Ooo!" WALL-E's curiosity was piqued.

"Really...?" EVE said.

"Yeah!" John laughed, "When are _you_ two getting married, huh?"

"I agree!" Mary laughed, "I've been hearing wedding bells since I saw you two together after the Axiom landed!"

"Seriously, you've been together for an entire year!" John added.

EVE let go of WALL-E's hand after giving it a gentle squeeze, "I'll be right back."

She left quickly, making WALL-E's eyebrows shoot upwards. She returned not long after with a piece of cloth, white but old and dirty. She made a questioning beep at her human friends.

"That's called a veil!" Mary took the piece of cloth and rearranged it, brushing the dirt out. It was torn and crumpled, but it was mostly in one piece, "This is what the bride wears on her head during the wedding. Look!" she carefully set the ring attached to the cloth on EVE's head, letting the fabric fall across her back.

WALL-E cooed in awe.

"It looks lovely on you, Eve!" Mary said, "Sure, it's ripped and messy, but we can fix that!"

EVE trailed her fingers through the thin fabric lying softly against her head and over her shoulders.

Bride...


	2. Chapter 1

_She was endlessly falling._

 _Sure, any time she wanted, she could simply activate her thrusters and stop falling, but she didn't want to. She deserved everything that had happened to her. The dents in her head, the scratches up and down her curved body, the grinding of her processors rattling in her head. It was all deserved torture._

 _At least...he died quickly..._

 _She was suffering..._

 ** _Why am I so stupid!?_**

"Evah?"

"AH!" EVE woke up violently, shaking uncontrollably and fearfully. She was back home in the truck they shared. She kept her back turned to him, her hands on her face. He had been really worried about her for a long time. She had done everything halfheartedly for a while now, and he didn't understand why. Now, she had woken from a nightmare.

"Wall-E!?" she was panicking, her systems working faster than ever, heating her to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 5 seconds.

"Evah!" WALL-E forcefully grabbed her arms and pulled her close, keeping her still so she couldn't spiral around and hurt herself, "Shhh..."

She was hyperventilating, shaking vigorously, barely registering her partner at first. She heard his soft shushing and the sound of his internal motor and slowly, she began to calm down.

 _Commence system cooldown._ EVE told her computer.

WALL-E continued to hold her until she had stopped shaking entirely, then he pulled away enough to look into her eyes, "Evah?"

She sighed, hovering away until she was at the other side of the room. She was humiliated that she completely lost it that way. She never wanted to slip to insanity, ever, but at least her only witness was the least judgmental being on planet Earth. She had her back turned to him, both arms wrapped around herself, afraid to see his reaction.

She heard the soft sound of his treads on the metal floor, and felt his hand on her arm, "Evah?"

She made eye contact with him. He had nothing but worry and concern etched in his expression.

She sighed, burying her face beneath his head with both arms around his shoulders. Why was she ever afraid of his reaction? Of course he wouldn't ridicule her for losing it! He was WALL-E! He loved her! He cared deeply for her! How could she...

She...

She hated herself.

It had now been a year since the Axiom landed, and EVE was only chastising herself more and more often. It had even gotten to the point where her head was making disturbing connections, giving her nightmares, or even forgetting things once important to her. She couldn't understand what was wrong with her. She had once seen the great lengths WALL-E would go to to save her, but had she ever done so for him!? No! Of course she hadn't! She didn't matter the way he did! She didn't deserve him!

All these thoughts just made her cry. She knew not to hate herself. but it kept happening, more and more, like a vampire leeching her self-confidence. She wanted it to stop.

She was sick of this.

INCOMING CALL: AXIOM

She flinched at her display, _Really, Captain? Now?_

She kept one arm around WALL-E while she answered the call, _Are you aware that it's two in the morning?_

 _"Eve, listen to me. Come to the Axiom right now, and bring WALL-E with you."_ then the link disconnected.

EVE felt her processor grow cold.

"Evah?"

"Come on." she grabbed WALL-E on either side of his box body and flew out of the hole in the roof. The intensity of the captain's voice scared her. It must have been urgent, or he wouldn't have told her this early in the morning. He didn't even stop to laugh at her tone or say hello, it was just, _Come here now!_

She hurried to the Lido deck, which was now on its side since the second land back on Earth. The captain was there, with a newly rebuilt AUTO and a large group of other robots, including her sister probes. He was nervously wringing his hands together.

EVE set down WALL-E and saluted, "Captain?"

"Eve!" he exclaimed, a tired expression on his round face, "I'm so glad to see that you and WALL-E are ok..."

 _What happened?_ EVE beeped, _Why did you call us in on such short notice?_

"We've been attacked."

"What!?"

"The Axiom has scorch marks all along the side of her from it. Auto says that he knows what it is and wants to wait for everyone to get here before he explains."

 _Who's not here?_

"Eve number five, I believe...and M-O is missing too." he turned to the others, "Can someone initiate a roll call!?"

EVE had first formally met her sister probes 6 months ago, but the five of them soon realized how confusing it was to have five EVEs, so each of them agreed to adopt a nickname. They also gave each other their own eye colors to feel more individual and to differentiate them even more from the others. The EVEs were called, from 2-5, Aya (yellow eyes), Leah (orange), Rio (green), and Rose (hot pink).

EVE furrowed the tops of her eye forms. If her data served her correctly, then Rose is the one who would show up first in case of emergency. Why would she not be here yet?

She hovered in front of WALL-E, "Stay!" and then flew off to find her sister. Hopefully, she hadn't wandered too far from civilization.

It was dangerous out there, after all.

* * *

EVE looked over the landscape with her eyes, searching for a streak of white among the dirt and grass. She knew Rose would be out here if she wasn't home, seeing as she preferred to spend her time away from everyone else and with her garden of rose bushes, so that would be the place to check. Luckily, since so many plants were spread across the Earth, dust storms were much less frequent than they had been a year ago, so she was confident that her sister would be safe from a natural standpoint.

She stopped and hid. Were those voices?

"-becoming more and more apparent! We have to stop them before they decide to leave altogether!"

Who was that? It sounded like a pre-recorded message, but she couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Hey hey, you heard the boss-man. What he says is law, and he says that the operation is doing nothing! The Wall-Es are doing their best, but there's just too much garbage!"

"That's enough! All of you!"

Shelby Forthright!

"This discussion is over! Life on Earth is unsustainable! I'll have to issue a new override on the autopilots, and then we are leaving!"

"But sir-!"

"I'm sorry, did you say you wanted to be fired?"

"What!? No!"

EVE finally found the source of the voice; an old audio recorder.

"Then let's get a move on! I'm not getting any younger here!"

The message cut off and then nothing but static.

What was that all about?


	3. Chapter 2

"Eve?"

She swiveled her head around, sighing in relief upon seeing EVE #5, "There you are! Didn't you hear the captain? He's gathering everyone at the Axiom! He says it's urgent!"

"Oh...um, I'm sorry...I didn't get it..."

"Come on, let's go. It's not safe out here!"

"What!? What about my roses!?"

"I'm sorry, but we have to go!"

"Okay...okay..." Rose let EVE lead her away from her beloved garden.

"Seriously, Rose." EVE told her, "You should pay more attention to your heads-up display!"

"I'm sorry..."

"It's alright, just remember next time-!" she held her arm out, "Rose stop!"

She did, "What?"

"Hide!" EVE dove behind a rose bush, tugging Rose's arm so she was pulled along with her sister. They both held still and stayed quiet.

A ship about the size and shape of the Axiom was looming close to the ground, mostly hidden among the clouds. It was grey in color and had "ATLANTA" written on the side of it. It loomed over the ground ominously, until it disappeared into the sky.

"What's that?" Rose whispered.

"It looks like another starliner." EVE replied, "We should get back to the Axiom." and with that, she flew off, her sister close behind.

Every robot had now been assembled at the Axiom, so AUTO looked over the crowd and spoke loudly, "I know the source of the attack."

A soft murmur escaped everyone's speakers. WALL-E clung to EVE's hand, and she squeezed it in return.

"It was the impact of a starliner explosive, only available on the one ridden by the workers of Buy n' Large itself, A7-B2-CAS." the autopilot explained, "Three maintenance bots were killed. The smaller dents were caused by an EVE Probe."

"What!?" EVE pulled the gun on her sisters, who had also pointed theirs at each other, "Which one of you was it!?"

"Well it sure wasn't me!" Rio snapped, "It had to be one of you!"

"I didn't do it!" Aya screamed at the others, "Confess now and I won't shoot!"

"I will!" EVE yelled.

"Everyone stop yelling!" Rose cried angrily.

"Girls! Girls!" McCrea held his hands out to them, "We don't know it was one of you! What if it was another probe?"

"We were the only Eve Probes ever built." Leah explained, shaking with obvious fear, "We were built on the Axiom almost two years ago, so no other starliner would know about us! And besides, I did the research. Only five Eve Probes were ever built and deployed."

"Okay okay! Listen up! If it really was one of you then speak up now! I'd hate to think we have a traitor on my crew, so if it was you, say so now! That's an order!"

Silence...

WALL-E watched a moment longer before stepping up and taking EVE's left hand, "Not Evah!"

"Okay, so Probe One has an alibi. Anyone else?"

"It wasn't me! I promise it wasn't me!" Leah cried, "I would never hurt anyone! I've never shot my laser in my life!"

"I haven't either!" Aya exclaimed, "And besides, I saw Leah in maintenance yesterday!"

"And Aya was with me all day!" Rose added, "I know it wasn't her!"

"Yeah!"

"Then that just leaves Probe Four." McCrea turned to Rio, the one with green eyes, "Did you do it?"

"No! _No!_ " Rio glared furiously, pointing her weapon at everyone, "I didn't! I really didn't!"

"So you don't have an alibi?"

"I was by myself, but that doesn't mean I did it! I wasn't here yesterday!"

"Where were you then?"

"I was..." she lowered her cannon, "I was..."

"Rio..." Leah touched her sister's shoulder, "If you did it, then you should say so. I won't judge you for it."

"But I really didn't do it!" Rio continued, "I promise that I didn't!"

McCrea huffed, "Alright fine. We have no proof that it was you, so I'll just let the issue drop. In the meantime, I'll set up stewards around the Axiom to keep a lookout for more attackers."

Rio got many disbelieving glares before AUTO continued his report, but none of the EVEs nor WALL-E could really pay attention anymore. They were busy thinking about what AUTO had said before.


	4. Chapter 3

"You'd better tell me where you were!" EVE was with her sisters and WALL-E in their truck, scolding Rio, "If you're lying to us, I'm gonna have to dismember you before blasting your face off!"

"Ugh! I don't understand why you're doubting me like this!" Rio crossed her arms angrily, "If I really wanted to attack the Axiom, I would have done it long ago!"

"Then where were you!? Tell me already!"

Rio growled, "Fine...I was outside the encampment area..."

"Why were you out there?"

"I was looking for...looking for...thistles..." Rio's cheeks glowed faintly, "Don't ask me why I was looking for thistles, okay!?"

"Do you have any now?"

"Not anymore, but I did have them!"

"I think she's telling the truth!" Aya interjected, "I did see her this morning with milk thistle leaves in her fingers!"

EVE narrowed her eyes before scanning Rio, and sure enough, she did have milk thistle residue on her hands and all over inside her bio-stasis chamber.

"Alright..."

"See?" Rio huffed, "I may have a bad temper, but I'm not a barbarian!"

"But..." EVE frowned, "If it wasn't any of us, then who could it have been?"

"Um..." Rose spoke up, "What if it was another Eve Probe?"

"But, we were the only ones ever built." Leah said, "Remember?"

"No no! Think about it!" Aya said, "If it was none of us, then it had to be a different one! Right?"

"How do we even know it was an Eve!?" EVE asked, one hand on her forehead, "It's not like AUTO saw the whole attack!"

"Yeah!" Rio glared, "He even said he was inside until the attack was over!"

While they were talking, WALL-E was passively listening to them...until he realized something.

"Evah!"

"Huh?" she turned to him, "Wall-E?"

He grabbed her right arm and then pointed to the ground, gesturing with his palm facing down.

She widened her eyes, "The scorch marks..."

Almost in unison, Probes 2-5 said, "What?"

"The scorch marks!" EVE face-palmed, "Oh!"

"You mean on the side of the Axiom!?" Rio exclaimed.

"Duh!" Aya replied, "How did we miss that!?"

"Maybe you were too busy giving me the evil-eye!" Rio growled.

"So wait, was it an Eve at all?" Rose asked, "Maybe it was a different robot!"

EVE slowly shook her head, "No. I looked at the marks. They could only have been made by a twenty-inch ion cannon. No other type of robot would need that kind of weapon."

"Wow. You're good at that." Aya marveled.

"Wall-E is right, Auto saw the marks and concluded the same thing." Leah said, "If it was none of us, then..."

"Then there's another EVE..." Rio finished, "There's at least one more Eve that we don't know about!"

"But why would another starliner have Eve Probes?" Aya asked, "It was the Axiom's job to initiate Operation: Recolonize!"

"Hold on..." EVE held up one hand, silencing the group. She thought for a moment before continuing, "It wasn't supposed to be that way."

"Wait, what?" Rio asked, "How in the world do you know that!?"

"Hush..." EVE replied, "Let me explain. When I first brought the plant to the Captain, a pre-recorded message from Shelby Forthright told him about the operation. I noticed that the word, 'Axiom' was spoken in a slightly different tone, suggesting that the other starliners names would've been inserted in their place. Think about it, the plan was aborted five years after the starliners left, so they would still have the assets to build the Eve Probes. It's very possible that they used those assets to build at least one Probe _after_ the Axiom landed."

"I'm surprised you could say all of that in English..." Rio remarked.

EVE huffed, switching to code, _Yeah...it takes a lot of ram to keep up..._

Her sisters chuckled.

"So..." Leah said, "You're saying she's brand new?"

"That would actually make a lot of sense, considering we didn't know about her until just now." Aya gasped, "Is she evil?"

"Let's assume so." EVE said, _Alright, I want everyone on high alert! Travel with at least one other person, and if anything happens, call someone! Either me or the captain or another sister! Don't let this turn into a disaster!_

 _Got it!_ They all saluted.

EVE smiled, returning the gesture, "Okay."

"Help?" WALL-E asked.

"Um...yeah!" EVE told him, "You can keep an eye out for any kind of danger. Stick close to me, and if you see anything relevant, tell me, or one of my sisters, okay?"

He nodded.

"But...preferably me..." and then she kissed him, planting a spark between his eyes. He sighed lovingly.

Aya giggled, "I love his reaction!"

EVE nuzzled her lover sweetly, "Me too..."


	5. Chapter 4

"Really!?"

 _Yes, really._ EVE relayed in Binary Code, _We believe that there's at least one other EVE Probe built on another starliner, and she's the one who attacked the Axiom._

"Well, that's just wooonderful!" The captain groaned, "So it wasn't Probe Four?"

 _No, it wasn't Rio. We have proof that she wasn't even here when the attack happened._

"I see..."

"I tooold you guys!" Rio made a show of rolling her green eyes across her screen.

"This means we have a big problem!" Aya said, "Who knows what else they have besides more Eves!?"

"Hang on, something doesn't sit right..." EVE said, "Why was that Eve shooting the side of the ship anyway? Did that really kill people?"

"What are you saying, Probe One?" McCrea asked.

"Well..." EVE stopped long enough for her speaker to catch up with her mind, "I get the feeling that the attack was only a distraction and that a real attack was happening in the shadows."

"So...what was the real attack?" Rose asked.

"That's a good question..." EVE closed her eye-forms while she thought, "Hm..."

"Evah..." WALL-E shivered, tugging on her hand.

"Huh? What is it, Wall-E?"

He nervously pointed in the distance, where a black figure was watching ominously, like it was waiting for a chance to attack.

EVE shielded WALL-E with her left arm and unsheathed her weapon, "Who are you!?"

"Who, me?" it sounded just like an EVE Probe, "I'm your worst nightmare..."

The chilling voice made everyone else turn. There, hovering just beyond the Axiom's interior, was a black EVE Probe with red eyes. Her design was angular, and her metal had a matte finish. She cocked her weapon and pointed it at them.

EVE shot her, and she effortlessly dodged, "Don't bother! I'm built much better than you!"

"What do you want!?" EVE screamed while her sisters also pointed their weapons at her.

"I was just spying on you...too bad your little friend here blew my cover, though, I suppose I wasn't trying to hide..." her voice was salty and dripping with sarcasm, "So...how many shots will it take to kill all of you? One? Maybe two if it's an off-day..."

She was really getting on EVEs nerves, _Identify yourself!_

"Really now? You say that in Binary?" the black probe gave a slow ironic laugh, "Well, if you _must_ know my name, you will address me as Eve-L..."

Evil.

EVE had heard enough, "Shoot her! Everyone!"

All the EVEs shot at the same time, but EVE-L flew away faster than they could see.

 _"I was informed just now to not fight you yet. Don't worry, though...your battery acid will decorate the walls soon enough!"_ a warbled laugh reverberated throughout the Lido Deck before all was quiet once again.

WALL-E shuttered, tucking in his treads and arms.

EVE huffed, "Who does she think she is!?"

"I don't like the sound of that..." Leah trembled.

"Urg! I'll kill her!" Rio shouted.

"So, wait. What just happened!?" McCrea asked.

"Eve-L..." EVE squinted, "Something feels wrong..."

"You mean how she just threatened our lives!?" Rio scoffed, "Pfff! What feels _right_ about that!?"

"No, no..." EVE continued, "There's something else...something..." she trailed off. What was it?

"Why didn't she just kill us now?" Aya asked.

"Leeeaaader!"

"Huh?" EVE glanced at WALL-E.

"Fooollooow!" he said.

"Yeah...she has a superior..." EVE gestured to her sisters, "Listen up, everyone! If you see that Eve-L, I want you to shoot her on sight! No questions asked!"

"What!?" Leah was horrified, "You don't mean that!"

"What if we don't have a choice?" Rose took her hand, "It's fine if it's self-defense."

"No! I can't kill!"

"Don't worry, you won't have to!" Rio smiled, "I'll take care of it!"

EVE rolled her eyes, "Fine. Whatever works. Just make sure she turns up dead, got it!?"

All the EVEs rolled out, except Leah.

"B-but..." she whimpered.

WALL-E extended a hand to her, a smile on his optics.

Leah nodded, "Thanks, Wall-E...that really means a lot to me..."


	6. Chapter 5

"Eve?"

REBOOT

"Eve? Are you still awake?"

"Hm?" EVE opened her eyes, flinching when she was pulled from her bad dream. She recognized the color; green, "Rio?"

"Can I ask you something?"

EVE smiled, coming out of her dormant state, "Sure."

Every once in awhile, Rio would wake up one of her sisters because for some reason, she had a hard time staying asleep. Aya contributed her grumpiness to her not getting enough sleep, which Rio had never argued against. Her favorite sister to wake up in the middle of the night was Leah due to her kindness and understanding nature, but she didn't want to feel like she was "ranking her family members" (plus Leah needs sleep too), so she would often take turns with all of them.

Once the two were outside, Rio beckoned EVE closer, "I just wanted to ask you...how did you know you were in love with Wall-E?"

EVE's eyes widened, then narrowed, "Why? Are you in love?"

"That's the thing, I don't know." Rio told her, "It's a strong feeling, but I need to know if it's true..."

Wow. Rio not getting defensive. That's a good sign, "Well...do you feel warm inside?"

"Yes."

"Do you admire the person for who they are, and not just what they are, or what they look like?"

"Absolutely."

"Does it feel like you want to protect them and keep them safe? Do they feel like your best friend? And does it make you sad when you think of being away from them for too long?"

"Uh huh..."

EVE smiled, "Then I'm sure you're in love. Give it some time, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Rio sighed, "I've just been getting to know them and...the feeling keeps getting stronger..."

EVE giggled, taking both her sister's hands, "Who is it?"

Rio snatched her hands away, "I don't have to tell you!"

"Ah. There you are, Sis." EVE teased, "Fine, don't tell me, but I want to know at some point!"

"But I don't even know if they like me back!"

"Hey. For me and Wall-E, it just clicked. I knew deep down in my heart that he's mine. He's my sun in the day, and my stars at night. My love, my soul, my directive." she paused to let her processor catch up, "You'll know if they like you back."

"Thanks, Eve..." Rio nodded, "Okay. I'll do that."

"Think you can sleep now?"

"Yeah, I think so." Rio smiled gratefully.

"Ok, let's go back then."

"Hang on." Rio looked at EVE seriously, "Should I tell them how I feel?"

EVE considered this, "Well...for me, it was obvious that Wall-E loved me. I just had to realize what love is, and how to do it. His compassion for me is what initially made me fall for him."

"Okay well let's assume I'm not in love with Wall-E! Then what!?"

EVE laughed, "Calm down, Rio! All I mean to say is I don't really know. I think you should, but though we are the same model, we're not the same person. Just do what you believe is right."

"Hmmm...you know what? Yeah. Yeah, okay, I'll tell them."

"Alright. Let me know how it goes."

 _Warning: Short-Term Memory Full. Systems must refresh._

EVE yawned, "Come on, let's go back to bed..."

"K. Thanks for talking to me."

"Of course." EVE replied, heading back to the truck, "Of course."

* * *

Rio spun the thistle in her hand as she approached the elevator. The captain's cabin had been rebuilt and AUTO still did most of his work up there, keeping the Axiom running in case it was needed. It was pretty early in the morning, so it was mostly quiet, though her heart was pounding.

 _Okay..._ she thought, heading up the elevator, _Here I go..._

"Hm?" AUTO Turned to the elevator as it opened, "Rio?"

She felt herself blush. He had stopped calling her "Probe Four" weeks ago and it still got her flustered, "Hey, Auto..."

Rio had spoken with a lot of the on-board robots in the six months she had been given life, but one day she started spending more time in the captain's cabin than anywhere else. Her reason? She was fascinated by the way AUTO moved about the room, typing things and barking commands into his microphone. When his work was done, he would close off and deactivate. Rio was always disappointed when he did this. Soon after, she would make friendly conversation with him. It annoyed him at first, but...

He eyed her hand, "Thistles?"

"Yeah..." Rio tapped the tips of her fingers together, "I went out looking for them because...you, um...said that you liked them..."

AUTO looked a moment longer before extending one of his spokes and taking the thistle from her. He spun it around.

"Do you like it?"

AUTO turned around and typed something into the keyboard beside him. Rio felt herself tense as he applied something to the thistle and stuck it to his face, above his eye on the right side.

He turned back to her, "I love it."

"R-really!?" Rio smiled.

"It's lovely." AUTO said, in his monotone way.

Rio clasped her hands behind her back, feeling her heart beat faster. Well, it's now or never, right?

"Um...hey, Auto..."

"Hm?"

"Uh...I..." she tried to speak clearly, but her voice was shaking, "...I...l-lo...love..."

* * *

INCOMING CALL: AXIOM

"Hm?" EVE answered her com, "Captain?"

"No, it's me." came the voice of AUTO, "I need everyone to report to the Axiom right now!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"No time to explain! Just bring everyone here immediately!"

EVE listened to the link disconnect while she saw her sisters had received the same message, "Wall-E! Wake up!"

"Uuuuuggghhhhh..." WALL-E groaned.

"Let's not waste any time!" EVE grabbed WALL-E and hurried out the hole in the roof, her sisters close behind, "Hurry!"

They were almost there when EVE-L suddenly shot, just skimming EVE's head, but it did surprise her enough that she swerved, dropping WALL-E in the process and allowing EVE-L to scoop him up.

"NO!" EVE screamed, "GET BACK HERE!"

WALL-E boxed himself, not knowing what else to do. Leah hurried to the Axiom to call for help while everyone else chased EVE-L. Suddenly, she pointed her weapon right at WALL-E.

"Wall-E!" EVE cried, cocking her cannon, "Give him back!"

"Well..." EVE-L laughed a saucy laugh, "Should I? I mean, it's not like you can kill me until I release him..."

"No! No please! I beg of you!" EVE felt her voice shake fearfully, "I love him! Please don't hurt him!"

"Evah...?" WALL-E muttered.

"Hahaha! Oh...this is too precious..." EVE-L grinned, "Hey, I should keep him!"

"NOOO!"

"Yeah! Then I get to see the pain and anger in your eyes every time I see you! And then you'll beg for mercy once he's mine!"

"Who are you to decide who lives in pain and who dies!?" Aya screamed.

EVE was having a mental breakdown, unable to speak without stuttering, "Please...p-please, I-I'll do anything...anything you w-want...just g-give him b-back..."

"Oh-hoho! This is what I _live_ for!" EVE-L said, laughing maniacally.

"Halt!"

"Hm?"

The stewards had shown up! Thousands of them swarmed around EVE-L, backing the EVE's. Leah joined her sisters again while EVE-L began to shoot them.

"Thank you." EVE told Leah, diving after EVE-L.

"You're welcome!"

EVE-L quickly realized she was outnumbered, so she bolted, EVE hot on her trail. Only the EVEs could keep up with EVE-L, so it was just the black probe with the garbage bot and the five white probes, all in hot pursuit. Something over the horizon made them stop, though.

It looked a bit like the ship that EVE and Rose had encountered before, but it was almost half the size, and ten times as intimidating. They surveyed all the explosives and mounted guns while EVE-L slipped inside with WALL-E.

"No...no, no no nononono! NO!" EVE bolted.

"Eve!" Rio grabbed her around the waist. EVE struggled to escape while Rio held firm, not letting her go, "Have you lost your mind!? Just let him go!"

 ** _"I'M NOT GONNA LOSE HIM AGAAAIN!"_** EVE stopped struggling and drooped, beginning to sob uncontrollably, "I'm so scared! Please don't let him be hurt, please let him be okay..."

Rio spun her sister around to look her in the eye, "He'll be fine. I know WALL-E, and I know he'll stay strong. He'll hang in there, alright?"

EVE gave a slow nod, and Rio pulled her into a hug, which she returned.

"Come on. Let's go back to the Axiom."

EVE let her sisters lead her away from the giant ship, more broken than they'd ever seen her. Surly they weren't heartless enough to kill him...

Right?


	7. Chapter 6

SYSTEM COOLDOWN COMPLETE

INTERNAL TEMPERATURE STABILIZED

EVE was calm now, but that didn't mean she was happy. Her head was full of thoughts of WALL-E, swimming around in her head until she was dizzy.

"Wall-E needs to be recovered." AUTO said, "Everyone else is safe. Probes One through Five, I'll leave that to you."

"Evah?" M-O asked, _Can I go with you?_

 _What? No, they need you here._

 _But WALL-E is my best friend!_ M-O protested, _I want to help!_

 _EVE, let him come._ Rose told her, _We could use someone who's this small._

EVE huffed, "Ugh..."

 _You're so stubborn, EVE!_ Aya remarked.

 _Shut up!_ EVE crossed her arms, _Fine. M-O can come along, just be careful!_

 _I will! I promise!_ M-O hopped into Leah's arms.

 _Alright, let's head out!_ Rio hurried from the Axiom, her sisters close behind. EVE caught sight of something that made her pause at the door for a moment.

Stuck to the top right of AUTO's wheel, next to his red eye, was a blossom of milk thistle.

EVE giggled to herself before heading out.

* * *

WALL-E finally pushed his head out of his body, daring to look around. He was in a cage suspended from the ceiling, swinging dangerously. EVE-L was at a control panel, talking to someone in a black captain's uniform. The room he was in was also very dark.

"I just love seeing her suffer that way, you know?"

"Yes, but you mustn't get distracted." the hooded figure replied, "Our goal is to simply overpower them."

"Well, yeah, but I have the head probe's boyfriend! She's going to come after us and she's going to get screwed over by us!"

"Eve..." the hooded figure shook its head before lifting his hand.

EVE-L began to shake, bending over, "Ack! Stop! Stop I'll kill him!"

She stopped shaking.

"I'll kill him in front of her, and then she'll be so broken that overpowering them will be easy!"

The figure was quiet for a moment, "I like the way you think, Eve." they typed something into the control panel, "She'll show up soon enough, and when she does, that Wall-E is as good as dead!"

WALL-E stayed still and quiet, trying to stay relaxed. He didn't want them to know he was eavesdropping.

One thing's for sure, he wasn't going to die. Not now, not later, and he was not going to watch EVE suffer for it. He would get out of this alive.

"Wall-E!" EVE burst through the iron door, pointing her cannon at EVE-L, "Girls! Cover me!" she hurried to WALL-E's cage.

"No!" WALL-E rattled, shaking his head, "Gooo!"

"What!? Wall-E!"

"Gooo!" he repeated, waving her away.

Too late, EVE-L grabbed WALL-E as soon as EVE had broken open the cage. She shot right into his heart, blasting smoke throughout the room.

"NOOO!" EVE screamed in horror, "WALL-E!"

"Oh no!" Aya exclaimed.

"Wall-E! No!" Rio added.

And then all was quiet.

Actually, the girls didn't catch this, but WALL-E pushed himself out of EVE-L's arms at the last second, so he just missed being blasted to pieces. He was not going to die today. He still had a mission.

He snuck to the control panel, using the smoke as a cover, and hit one of the buttons.

 _"All systems shutting down"_

"What!?" the hooded figure exclaimed.

"No!" EVE-L grabbed EVE, "Did you do this!?"

"N-no!" EVE was genuinely confused.

"Evah!"

"Wall-E..." she scooped him up, "Wall-E! You're alive!"

"Evah! Go!"

"Huh?"

"GO!"

"Oh! Right!" EVE hurried from the room, the rest of her family in tow.

"GET THEM!"

"Wall-E!" M-O exclaimed, still held by Leah, "C-c-cleveerrr!"

WALL-E buzzed, a smile on his face.

"We have to hurry! This place is gonna shut down soon!"

"Eve! They have another entourage!" Aya yelled, "Their floors are flooded!"

EVE cursed, "We'll never get out!"

"Wait! Lemme take 'em on!" Rio smiled evilly.

"Are you serious!?" EVE replied incredulously.

"I'm really good with my laser cannon!"

"Are you sure!?"

"Count on it, sista!" Rio winked, "Let's destroy some baddies!"

"There's too many of them!" Aya cried, "We'll never make it!"

"I'll blow a pathway through them!" Rio cocked her laser cannon, "Then we'll make a break for it!"

"Let's hurry then!" EVE shifted her grip on WALL-E, "What happens if someone gets left behind!?"

"Then we come back!"

"But it's too crowded!" Aya said.

Leah looked behind them, her eyes widening, "LOOK OUT!"

Just as Rio shot, Leah handed M-O to Rose and jumped behind EVE, pushing her hard. A laser nicked her arm.

"Leah!" EVE hurried back to her, grabbing her arm with her free hand, "RIO! Get us out of here!"

"Almost!" Rio struggled to make a gap in the group of crazed robots, "Everyone go!"

They bolted, watching the door close in front of them. Once it closed, it wouldn't open again due to lack of power. They would have to get through that door right now, or they would be trapped.

EVE felt WALL-E slipping from her fingers, so she tightened her grip. She was going too fast to keep a proper hold on him, so she was hoping and praying that she wouldn't drop him.

Almost there!

The door clanking closed was loud in their ears, "Did everyone get out!?"

EVE felt the weight on her arm was gone.

"No...NO! WALL-E!" EVE banged on the door, "WALL-E! WAAALL-EEEEE!"

"STOP!" Rio gave her sister's shoulders a firm shake, "We'll find another way in!"

"But the power's down! We can't get back in without breaking something!"

"Then let's break something!"

Just then, robots swarmed them, ushering them away and shooting at them.

"Let's come up with another plan! Come on!"

"What!? But Wall-E-!"

"We don't have time for that!" Rio steered her panicked sister away, "Let's just get away before we're killed!"

EVE couldn't believe herself. She almost wanted to slap herself right then and there.

He was gone again.

All because of her butterfingers.


	8. Chapter 7

WALL-E tapped his treads together, thinking about EVE again.

Other than that, all was quiet.

"Ugh! Shut up!"

The tapping stopped.

"That is the most annoying commotion I've ever heard! Don't do that!"

He peeked down onto the floor, where EVE-L was lying on her back. She was mostly still, but she was shaking and breathing heavily.

She glared, "What are you looking at?"

WALL-E frowned, "Oookaaay?"

"Huh. I keep forgetting how your voice sounds." she sharply inhaled, "Ah..."

He kept looking at her.

"I'm fine, okay?" EVE-L squeezed her eye-forms shut, "Just leave me alone..."

WALL-E thought for a moment. He didn't like seeing someone so broken, regardless of how "evil" they were. It was why he had wanted AUTO fixed.

"Stop looking at me like that!" EVE-L exclaimed, "Stop! I'll kill you! I'll suck your energy slowly and painfully until you implode and shut down! Then I'll recharge you and start all over until you're dry as a raisin! You hear me!? **I'LL KILL YOU AND I'LL KILL YOUR PRECIOUS GIRLFRIEND!** "

WALL-E listened sadly. He could just tell, she was in pain.

"I'll...I'll..." she began to cry, "I hate you...I hate them, and I hate my creator...I hate my directive...I hate...I hate everything..."

WALL-E tapped on the bars of his cage to get her attention, "Frieeend?"

"What!?" she narrowed her eyes, "You really are awful, you know? You're just mocking me! I hate you!"

WALL-E shook his head, "Walllll-E...heeere...frieeend..."

"No...you can't...that's impossible..." she hovered over to him, "I don't understand why you'd say that to me! You must be really cruel! I feel sorry for your girlfriend!"

WALL-E shook his head, "Nooo...reeeal..."

"You can't...no..." EVE-L rubbed her screen, her eyes tight slivers, "Why, though? Why would you want to be my friend after everything I put you through?"

He gave a small smile, extending his hand in a friendly manner, "Forgiiive!"

She stared at his outstretched hand, feeling her rough demeanor dissipating like an old fog. What was this feeling? She wanted to ignore it, but it felt so beautiful. It was almost consuming her like a parasite, but it was such a wonderful feeling...

"Wall-E..." EVE-L tested the word, "Waaall-Eee..."

"Evah-L!"

"Huh?" she almost smiled, "Yeah, I'm Eve-L...I'm...evil..."

 _Evil..._

* * *

EVE massaged her forehead, "Why...why why why..."

"Hey! Cut that out!" Rio shook her sister, "You can't blame yourself for something like that! I wouldn't have been able to keep a hold on him either!"

"But...he's..."

"Eve..." Leah said gently, "That could have been any of us. It just happened to be you."

"Leah's right, stop heaping all the blame on yourself." Aya agreed.

"Look, it doesn't matter who's fault this was anyway!" Rio said, "The fact remains that we failed. All of us, collectively!"

"You mean he's still in there?" AUTO said.

"Hm?"

The wheel hovered over to them, seeming to be angry, "What happened?"

Everyone frowned.

"Wall-E..." M-O spun his brush, "t-trapped..."

"You failed." AUTO turned to Rio, "Explain."

"Well, it was their fault! The morons who run that place are just too good at their jobs! I get the feeling we have to gather an army before we even make a scratch in their defenses, especially once their power comes back on!"

"Then we'll organize an army." AUTO replied, "We can't just leave him in there. Who knows what might happen to him..."

Rio sighed, "Right...anyway, we're sorry..."

"Don't be." AUTO clicked one of his spokes, "Captain, gather everyone on the Lido Deck. We're going to need as many people as possible."

 _"Roger that!"_

"Uh, by the way, Auto..." Aya pointed to his face, "Is that Milk Thistle?"

"Um...yes..." AUTO said, "It's my favorite kind of plant."

"Really...?" Aya shot Rio a knowing glance, who glared in response.

EVE giggled.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned towards the voice of the captain, who had gathered not only _all_ the robots, (there were at least 2,000 of them) but some humans as well.

"I got'cher army!" he said, "Who's ready for a rescue mission?"

"Woo!" M-O exclaimed, "Go go!"

"Let's go!" Aya added.

"Okay..." EVE felt a rush of determination, "Everyone! Attack the front of their ship and cause a distraction! My sisters and I will sneak around the back and grab Wall-E! Remember to disable the lasers and bullets before you go!"

Everyone cheered.

"Alright..." EVE exhaled, "Let's do this..."


	9. Chapter 8

WALL-E watched EVE-L unlock his cage with fumbling fingers. She seemed to be taking a long time getting it open, her eyes wandering absent-mindedly. He lay his hand on hers, hoping to offer some kind of comfort.

"Stop that!" she jumped back, "I still hate you!"

He didn't believe that.

"I'm just getting you out so I can kill you in front of your girlfriend!" she took a calming breath before returning to the cage, finally getting it open and scooping him up, "Let's go."

She hurried out of the room and hovered through the hallway. WALL-E couldn't read her expression, but he didn't fidget as she carried him up into the air. An army was visible near the girls, EVE among them.

"Evah!" he felt the cold tip of EVE-L's cannon against his head.

"Be quiet!" she shouted, "HEY EVE!"

EVE's eyes widened, hurrying to them, "Wall-E!" her eyes turned sad, her hands clasping together, "I beg of you! Please! Don't kill him! Just give him back to me!"

EVE-L grinned, "I love seeing you beg like that! Do it some more!"

"Just..." EVE bowed her head, trying to appear as docile as possible, "Just give him to me...I love him too much to lose him again...please...please..." her pride was tainted, but she would do whatever it took to keep her sweetheart alive.

"Ahahahaha!" EVE-L had a manic grin on her face, "Yes! YES!"

She contorted in pain just then.

 _"Don't get distracted!"_ the hooded figure's voice came over EVE-L's speakers, _"Do what you were programmed for or I will torture you!"_

Gut-wrenching fear shone in her eyes, "Okay okay! I'll kill him!"

She stopped shaking.

"What the-?" EVE muttered aloud.

EVE-L snapped her fingers and all the girls were trapped in suspension beams. She cocked her weapon and aimed it right at WALL-E's solar charge display. No escape. No way out.

"NOOO!" EVE screamed, bracing for the impact.

...

"Hm?"

EVE-L was shaking, her laser still trained on WALL-E's heart.

 _"What are you waiting for!?"_ the hooded figure yelled, _"Kill him already!"_

EVE-L tensed, her eye-forms squeezing shut. She shook violently, but she didn't shoot.

She...

EVE-L relaxed, dropping her arm to her side, "I'm sorry..."

The stasis beams dropped.

"Here..." she carefully handed WALL-E over to EVE.

 _"What are you doing!?"_

EVE was dumbfounded.

"I can't do it." EVE-L continued, "I can't kill him."

 _"Are you joking!? Eve! Kill him! That was the plan!"_

"No..." EVE-L backed away, twisting her fingers together, "He was kind to me. I can't kill him."

EVE glanced down at WALL-E, who was looking at EVE-L sadly.

"Wall-E..." EVE-L smiled warmly at him, "You showed me kindness...you showed me mercy..." she inhaled, "...no one has ever been kind to me before...it feels so nice..."

EVE giggled, nuzzling her partner, "I love you..."

He purred.

 _"EVE! YOU'RE GROUNDED!"_

EVE-L shuttered in terror, "I kn-know..."

"NO!" WALL-E cried.

"You're too kind..." EVE-L hurried back to the ship, "Thank you!"

"Wow..." EVE breathed.

 _"I declare war!"_

Everyone flinched as someone emerged from the ship. The hooded figure. They flipped the hood back so her face was clearly visible, "My name is Shannon Forthright, and I declare war against the former inhabitants of the Axiom!"

"What!? You can't do that!" Rio screamed as gasps rang out in the air.

And then, chaos.

EVE waded through the calamity and set WALL-E on the ground, "Stay!"

"Evah!"

She hurried through the crowd, watching something climb from the giant ship and launch from a cannon. She hovered to her sisters, "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

"What!? No way!" Rio cocked her ion cannon, "I want to fight!"

"We might be in danger otherwise!" Rose pointed out.

"I don't wanna fight!" Leah wailed.

"Wait! Let's think about this for a second!" EVE said.

"We don't have a second!" Aya retorted, "We have to do something now!"

 _"We'll be back!"_ was the final word from Shannon before she went back into the ship. A homing missile flew through the air. AUTO hurried to where the girls were.

"Rio! Look out!"

"What!?"

Without thinking, AUTO threw himself at the missile.

He exploded.


	10. Chapter 9

EVE might have missed all that if she blinked. The missile had locked onto Rio. It might have hurt them all, but the missile found her first.

And AUTO...

Rio's eyes were wide green circles. EVE hurried to gather the others and they all watched the pieces of AUTO, all spread across the ground.

* * *

Everything seemed to pass in a blur for them after this. Over the next few hours, the robots gathered up AUTO's remains, adding to the small graveyard that was growing outside the encampment area. EVE found a giant rock that was shaped into a tombstone by BURN-E, and WALL-E carved the words, "RIP AUTOPILOT" on it with his laser. AUTO's charred metal was buried and the tombstone was stuck into the ground above it.

EVE let the silence hang around them for a few more minutes as the sun set over the dusty horizon.

Finally, she cleared her throat;

"AUTO was once a villain..." she began, her voice somewhat shaky, "...I hated him for it...but Wall-E showed him mercy...and..." she looked out over the sad faces of robots and humans alike, "...he became a friend..."

The captain nodded solemnly, his hat over his heart, "Auto will be missed..."

EVE reached beside her to grasp Rio's hand, "I know you were fond of him..."

She didn't react. Her eyes were still wide circles.

EVE's voice dropped to a whisper, "Are you still in denial?"

Still, no reaction.

"Rio..." EVE took Rio's other hand and squeezed them in front of her, "Rio?"

 _I can't speak..._ she beeped.

 _Why not?_

 _Because..._ Rio squeezed her eye-forms shut, _I don't want to cry..._

EVE sighed, looking to her sisters for help.

"Rio..." Aya lay a hand on her shoulder, iWe're here for you. Don't be afraid to cry./i

M-O and WALL-E joined them, saying in unison, "Cooommmfffooorrrt!"

Rio shook, cringing, "I didn't..." she let her head fall, twisting her head away from the crowd, "I d-didn't even g-get to tell him..." her voice rose, "I didn't even get to say-!" she screamed, "I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU, AUTOPILOT! I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!" she sobbed and fell over EVE, who held her tightly.

"I know, I know..." EVE cooed, "Shhh..."

"No you don't!" Rio tightened her grip on her sister, "You've never lost Wall-E! You still h-have him!"

"I've been close..." EVE reminded her.

Rio pushed away, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL!" then she flew off.

"Rio!" EVE watched her sister leave, sadness in her eyes.

Leah made to follow her, "Wait!" EVE said, "Let her go. We'll be here for her when she needs us."

"But..." Leah looked towards where Rio had retreated.

"Let her be alone." EVE then turned back to the crowd, "Anything you guys want to add?"

Some murmurs rang out, but no one stepped up.

"Fair enough." she looked at AUTO's gravestone, "A moment of silence for our fallen comrade..."

...

After another long while, the captain took a deep breath, "Well, everyone should get some sleep. I want everyone inside the Axiom tonight. It's not safe out here anymore."

EVE stole one last look at AUTO's final resting place before joining her family as they retreated to the starliner.

* * *

EVE opened her eyes in the dark. She couldn't sleep. Her, WALL-E, Aya, Leah, and Rose were lined up against one wall of the Lido Deck (which used to be the floor), but Rio had yet to return. It wasn't safe out there, and so EVE couldn't rest easy until she came back. Finally, she came out of stasis and quietly left.

She hid behind a mound of dirt while she watched Rio approach AUTO's grave, opening her stasis chamber and dropping a bouquet of milk thistle on it. She lay a gentle hand on the mount of moist earth where her beloved was buried.

"I know you're there, Eve!" she called.

EVE flinched, coming out to hover beside her sister.

"Don't hide like that." Rio complained, "It's not nice to eavesdrop on someone's conversation."

EVE frowned, "I'm sorry..." she saw that the thistles on the grave were wrapped in red ribbon and tied into a neat bow, "Hey, Rio?"

"What."

"Um...listen..." EVE tried to take Rio's hand but she shied away, "...I'm sorry this happened to you..."

"You'd better be." Rio tensed, "You've never lost anyone. You don't know what it's like to watch someone die. You don't know what it's like to fall in love and then watch them go. _You've never seen WALL-E DIE!_ "

"Yes I have!"

Rio flinched, "What?"

"Don't try and tell me what I haven't felt! I saw WALL-E fly off in an escape pod set to self-destruct! I couldn't get to him fast enough and the pod exploded!"

Rio just watched as EVE took a break from her rambling;

"I watched Wall-E get electrocuted and fall down a garbage chute! I watched him fight to stay awake while we tried to get back to Earth! I watched him hold the holo detector open and I watched him get _crushed!_ " EVE took several quick simulated breaths, "Despite what you think, Wall-E _did_ die! He died and I didn't know if I would ever see him again! _And I watched him suffer while I was DYING!_ " she started hyperventilating.

Once EVE was calm again, she looked at Rio with shockingly pain-filled eyes, "Even though Wall-E is alive now, the fact remains that I've been through that pain. You can't tell me I haven't."

Rio was speechless.

Another uncomfortable silence passed between them.

Finally, Rio turned away from EVE, a little sheepish, "I'm sorry...I just don't know how to deal with all of this...emotion..."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"No, I understand..." Rio twiddled her fingers absently, "I shouldn't yell at you. This wasn't your fault."

EVE tried again to take Rio's hand, and this time she accepted, squeezing EVE's hand gratefully.

"It'll be alright." EVE reassured, "Me and the girls and Wall-E are all here for you, so don't beat yourself up over it."

"I know, I know..." Rio leaned into EVE's side, resting her head on EVE's neck crevice, "Thank you..."

"Of course." EVE rested her head on her sister's, "I understand. You love him."

"I just..." Rio lay her hand on her screen, "I should have spent more time with him...I should have told him how I felt a long time ago...that's why I can never sleep, because I worry if he knew. I was always afraid that he didn't know how much I love him. I've been in love since many weeks ago. That was when he stopped calling me 'Probe Four'. Instead, he called me 'Rio'."

"Yeah. He always called me 'Probe One'."

"Hm..." Rio watched the sky as dark clouds rolled over them. It began to lightly rain.

"We should get back." EVE said, "We're going to rust if we stay out here."

"What about Auto?"

"What about him?"

"Won't he be lonely if I'm not here?"

EVE lightly chuckled, "Auto liked to be alone. It shouldn't bother him that you'd go back to the Axiom for safety."

"Okay, well...can you go back on your own? I want to talk to Auto alone."

"Alright, but please come back soon, got it?"

"Sure..." Rio let go of EVE's hand and didn't look at her while she left.

"Oh, one more thing." EVE turned back for a moment, "Never forget; We're a family."

"Family?" Rio's eyes curved down, "Yeah...yeah...okay...thank you..."

"Stay safe." and with that, EVE hurried back to the Axiom.

Rio stared at the tombstone.

Her heart hurt.


	11. Chapter 10

"Okay, we need a plan to defend ourselves." McCrea was saying, "Forthright is coming for us and we need to be prepared. I'll monitor the captain's cabin since Auto can't anymore. Everyone else, I want on high alert!"

EVE held WALL-E's hand tightly as the captain spoke. He could tell that she was extremely nervous, and for good reason. The image of AUTO's death was still burned in his mind. M-O was hiding underneath his free arm, quivering fearfully. AUTO had become one of WALL-E's closest friends, so seeing him die was horrid, but he was also thinking about EVE-L and Rio. They were his friends too. The loss of the Autopilot was hard on all of them, and WALL-E's head was spinning worrying about everyone.

"I want every robot on this ship fitted with some kind of defense! All humans get a shield! Everyone help each other! Go!"

The entire ship was bustling with activity for the first time in a year. All humans and robots were running around, looking for things or helping another with something. Only Rio, EVE, and WALL-E were still.

"I wish he was here with me..." Rio said softly, "I miss him...my Autopilot..."

EVE felt her heart break at the tone of her voice. It was very unlike her, "I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault..." Rio spun a thistle between her fingers, "Well, I'm going to help. It's the right thing."

"Yes, and no one wants to be left out, right?"

Rio's eyes widened, "Did you just...?"

EVE tried to stifle a laugh.

"GRAAAH!" Rio's eyes turned red breifly, "You are _impossible!_ "

EVE laughed hysterically, "Come on! Let's go help out!" she grabbed WALL-E and flew off.

"YOU!" Rio chased after her.

EVE saw the captain signal to her, so she landed and set her boyfriend down, saluting, "Captain?"

"Yeah, Eve, I have a special assignment for you."

"Yes?"

"Another starliner was spotted outside the encampment area. I want you to find them and help them find us, okay? The ship is called the Atlanta, and it's important that we get them here and make sure they understand the threat."

EVE gave a firm nod, "Yes, Captain!"

"Oh, why don't you take Wall-E with you?"

"Okay." EVE lifted WALL-E in her arms and hovered off. The Atlanta. That was the name of the ship that she and Rose had encountered before this whole mess even started. Not only that, but they just made contact with the Axiom. What was stopping them when they first landed?

She kept a sharp eye out for the ship, remembering its size and color scheme. She was careful not to miss anything.

"Evah!"

"Huh?"

WALL-E was pointing into the distance. She followed his line of sight, where a starliner was rested on the horizon.

She gasped softly, heading off towards it. She set WALL-E down near the door, and they both headed towards it.

"Hello?" EVE called, "Anyone here?"

"Heeellooo?" WALL-E echoed.

EVE heard a weapon click, so she instinctively shielded WALL-E with both arms, stopping him in his tracks.

"State your name and business."

EVE's trigger finger itched, but she didn't want to provoke them, so instead she calmly answered, "My name is Eve, and I'm-!"

"You're full name, please."

"M-my full name?"

"Yes."

"Hhh-okay, here goes. My name is Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator 'EVE' Probe One, and I'm a robot from the Axiom."

"Who's that with you?"

"His name is Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class 'WALL-E'. He's my lover."

There was a moment of silence, "Did McCrea send you?"

"Yes."

The person who had spoken stepped into the light, "My name is Johnny Burnham. I'm the captain of the Atlanta."

"Pleasure." EVE replied, "Listen, you have to come with us! Everyone here is in danger!"

"Danger? What danger?"

"Another starliner landed, and they've declared war on us!"

"What!?" He turned as someone whispered something in his ear, "Oh. It's Forthright, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?"

"She called us yesterday, trying to get us to join their cult and remain in space. They're more concerned with Shelby's dying wish than they are about the well-being of their home!"

"Have they declared war on you?"

"No, but they were very annoyed when we rejected their proposal. I suppose ol' Shannon is just fed up..."

"Will you ally with us?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't we? Although, I'm sure they have allies of their own."

"Hurry, then! I can lead the way!"

"Very well, come with us to the captain's cabin."

EVE lifted WALL-E and followed the group of people up the elevator. She stopped upon seeing their Autopilot.

"Alpha. Take us into the air."

"Yes sir." he replied, typing something into the computer console. They felt the ground shake while the ship lifted.

"Eve, is something wrong?"

"Oh, the autopilot from our ship just died." she explained, "He saved my sister's life."

"Oh..." Burnham replied, "I'm sorry..."

Alpha broke the intense silence, "Awaiting further instructions."

"Eve?"

"Right." she approached the console, typing into the keyboard, "We should get there in about...T-minus four minutes and twenty seconds."

The ride was uneventful.

* * *

The Atlanta landed close to the Axiom. As soon as they touched ground, EVE took control, "Okay, we don't have much time! Gather your allies and follow me! They could attack at any-!"

 _BOOM!_

EVE was immediately knocked unconscious.

"Evah!" WALL-E grabbed her as she hit the ground.

"Thought you could get the jump on us, eh!?"

"Shannon Forthright!" Captain Burnham shouted in disgust, "What's the meaning of this!?"

"The war has begun!" she replied, "I'm not waiting any more, and I'm certainly not going to just sit back and watch humanity die out from its own stupidity!"

"So you're just going to kill us off!?"

"It's better than dying slowly! This planet is unsustainable!"

WALL-E couldn't hear much of what they were saying. He was too scared. Too nervous. His heart was thumping loudly in his auditory processors. He didn't even notice the explosions and fires sprouting up around him.


	12. Chapter 11

**THREE WEEKS LATER...**

WALL-E watched EVE in quiet stasis, hooked up to machines that were keeping her alive. The Axiom was losing. Even though they had gained the upper hand at first, they were quickly overpowered and taken over. EVE was now on life support, having falling into a coma. Since then, one other starliner had landed and helped in the war effort, but they were attacked again and destroyed.

They were just getting by, and WALL-E was scared beyond description.

"Wall-E?"

He turned his head slightly to show acknowledgement. It was Rio.

"You're still here?" she hovered to his side, "You need sleep too, you know."

He didn't care. He couldn't risk something happening to her while he was away.

Rio sighed, "Look, I get it. Okay? But you haven't slept in three days. Eve wouldn't want you over-exhausting yourself."

He spoke barely above a whisper, "No..."

"Wall-E..."

Her voice sounded just like EVE's.

"I'll help you through this, okay?" she took his hand and squeezed it, "We're a family."

He nodded, "Faaammmillleee..."

"Yeah, so don't worry about her, okay? She'd want you to stay healthy rather than fret over her twenty four seven." Rio hovered downward until she was at eye-level with her sister's boyfriend, "I'm concerned for you."

WALL-E whimpered, "Mmmiiissss...Evah..."

"I know I know, so do I, but could you at least sleep here? You don't have to go anywhere, I just want you to rest. I'll get everyone else in here too and we can all sleep with Eve, okay? Would that make you feel better?"

He thought about this for a second, "Aaand M-O?"

"Absolutely! We can all be here together." Rio smiled warmly, "Wait here."

WALL-E rapped his hands together nervously. He was afraid for AUTO and Rio. He was afraid for EVE and himself, but mostly, he was afraid for EVE-L. He hadn't heard from her in a very long time, and he didn't know if she was okay. Was she still suffering for sparing his life?

"Wall-E?" came the voice of Aya, "He's still here."

"I know he's still here." Rio replied, "He's worried about Eve."

"Yeah. I'm worried too." Leah said.

"Let's pray for her." Rose said.

"Pray? To who, the robot god?" Rio said.

"Well, no...I mean just hope for the best. Hope that she'll get better."

"Hope..."

WALL-E added, "Faaammmily!"

"Right." Rose nodded, "I'm going to hope for her. I'm going to pray."

"Let's all pray!" Aya agreed, "As a family!"

"Okay fine, have it your way." Rio brought the family together in a circle, "Let's hope for her. It's all we can do at the moment."

Everyone held each other's hands. It was very quiet. The next day could bring more casualties, more fatalities, and there was little they could do. Any one of them could die tomorrow.

All they could do right now, was hope.

Hope for an end to the war.

Hope for a better future.

Hope for their family.

"Okay..." Rio looked at everyone around the circle, "Let's go to sleep. I'll take first watch."

"Are you sure?" Leah asked, "You always take first watch..."

"I can't sleep anyway, so I might as well make sure everyone else is safe." Rio explained, "Now get some sleep."

Four probes reluctantly went into sleep mode.

"RRRiiiooo?" WALL-E had concern written all over in his eyes.

"I'll be alright, Wall-E..." she reassured, "Just go to sleep."

He wanted to keep arguing, but he was exhausted. As much as he didn't like it, he had to sleep. So he turned to face his beloved and boxed himself up, falling into stasis immediately.

He didn't notice EVE's finger twitching in her sleep.

* * *

WALL-E woke up early that morning, unable to focus on anything at first. The rays of the sun hadn't even come over the horizon yet, and Rio was dozing.

He simply couldn't sleep. EVE was invading his thoughts again, EVE-L was probably suffering in pain, and Rio and AUTO were separated indefinitely. His family was being torn apart, and this was doing a number on his mind. He didn't know what to do.

"Wall-E? You're up?" Rio groggily mumbled.

"Waaaaatch!" he accused her.

"I know I was only supposed to take first watch, but I can't...my sisters...need..." she yawned, "sleep..."

"Sleeeeep." he told her.

"No...I can't..."

"Yooou, sleeeeep." he insisted.

"N-no..." she slowly went dormant, "I refuse..."

When she was fast asleep, WALL-E turned back to EVE. He wondered if she could hear him.

"Evah..." he pressed his face against the glass of her stasis chamber. _I'm sorry, Eve._ he thought, _I wish I could've done something to stop it. I know you're there, just please wake up..._ he resisted the urge to cry, _Please..._

 _I need you to wake up..._

He stayed like this with her until the sun was high in the sky.


	13. Chapter 12

"Hmmm...so the capacitor can only run at up to eighty eight miles an hour..." Forthright was mumbling to herself, "What a shame..."

"Please! Stop!" EVE-L screamed, "I can't take it anymore! Just kill me!"

"Kill you? Kill you!? Ha! I created you, idiot! I decide if you live or die!"

"You're insane! You're sick, you're a _monster!_ " EVE-L writhed in agony, "Please just stop! It accomplishes nothing!"

"You take after me, you know..." Forthright glanced back at the numbers on her computer monitor, "You're a sadist..."

"I AM _NOT_ A SADIST!" EVE-L spat in disgust, "YOU _CONTROL_ ME! _YOU'RE_ THE SADIST!"

"My dear Eve, you say that like it's a bad thing..." Forthright smiled sickeningly, "To watch someone squirm and scream in pain is an art form!"

"You're wrong! I always got a false sense of disgusting pleasure from harming others! Wall-E showed me that!"

"Enough with the garbage bot! You won't shut up about him! You know, this war would've been over by now if you had just killed him from the start!"

"Shut up shut up shut up!"

Forthright stopped, her eyebrows creasing together, "Say that again..."

EVE-L widened her eyes in horror, "Um...I..." she took a simulated gulp of iodized fluid, "...Don't..."

"That was you?" Forthright gave a short ironic chuckle, "And here I thought my own systems had malfunctioned!"

"M-Master..." EVE-L tried to prop herself up with her arms, "You aren't going to...?"

"Oh, just watch..." she replied, turning off the torture switch, "You're job isn't over yet, sweetie..."

"Oh no..." EVE-L hid her face with her hands, "Please don't..."

"You leave me no choice, Eve! Every other Eve Probe must die. And, just for kicks and giggles, Wall-E will die too!"

EVE-L clenched her hands into tight fists, "No. I'll resist."

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to imply that you have a choice in the matter! HAHAHAAA! Don't worry, my darling. This won't hurt a bit."

"Nooo..."

"Yeees, my dear sweet Eve..." Forthright said in a mocking tone of voice, "...you'll lose yourself soon enough..."

* * *

WALL-E was broken from his train of thought by a loud siren blaring throughout the Axiom, "Warning. System overheat imminent. Shutting down all systems."

"NOOO!" WALL-E screamed, "EEEVE!"

"Captain! Activate emergency back-up power!" Rio shouted into her communicator.

"Oh no! We're being attacked!" Aya cried.

"Cannons at the ready!" Rio cocked hers with fervor, "We'll guard our sister with our lives!"

"Do I have to fight!?" Leah exclaimed distressfully.

"It's either them or us!" Rio scolded her, "I'm sorry, but the world isn't as kind as you are! You deal with it or you die!"

Leah shook, her eyes bright orange circles, "B-But...I-I've never...hurt..."

"Rio!" Rose took Leah's hand, "What she means to say is that it's not murder if you're defending yourself and those you love. If it makes you feel better, don't kill them. Just injure them and then I'll lock them up so they can't move. They can be redeemed later."

The attack came underway, and so Aya and Rio covered for them.

"Okay? Would you rather let our sister die?"

Leah looked from EVE, still in stasis, and the approaching army.

WALL-E pointed to himself, "Belieeevvve!" then at her.

"Aw..." Leah smiled a warm smile, "Okay, I'll fight, but only to protect my family."

She unsheathed her 20-inch ion laser cannon for the first time in her life.

"Ready!?" Rose brandished her own laser.

"Let's just do it."

 _"For family!"_

WALL-E watched everyone go, robots and humans clashing violently. He had begun to notice that EVE was the leader of the group, but with EVE absent, Rio was the commanding force in her place. He saw an odd liquid that was bright red coming out of hurt humans, and hurt robots were sparking dangerously. That couldn't be good.

What could he do!?

"Wall-E!"

He spun around, "Evah-L!"

She was crying, her weapon pointed right at him, "I'm so sorry..."

Then she shot.

He jumped back. He was singed, but he wasn't hurt. He weaved around and around, finally drawing her away from EVE, still in a comatose state. Her aim was awful, but maybe it was because she was being controlled and she was just resisting. Scorch marks covered the ground where she shot, so he ended up making a pattern on the ground where the laser touched, scarring the floor of the Axiom. She abruptly stopped shooting, so he took the opportunity to view his masterpiece.

 _Big noodle daddy._

WALL-E burst out laughing. EVE-L was trying to stay straight-faced, but she couldn't help herself, and soon, they were both rolling on the floor.

"What's so funny!?" Rio demanded, reading the scorch pattern, "Oh...uh..." she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, "C-come on you guys...l-let's be serious!"

EVE-L suddenly froze, letting out a blood-curling scream.

 _"What are you doing!?"_ Forthright's voice came over the room, _"I'll ground you again if you don't slaughter every last moving object in this room!"_

EVE-L gave a slight shake of her head.

"Evah-L!"

"Wall-E..."

"You again!?" Rio exclaimed.

"Can you guys do me a favor?" EVE-L clenched her hands in pain, "Kill me!"

"What!?" Rio shook her head.

"Why!?" Leah exclaimed.

"If you don't then I'll kill you!" EVE-L was sobbing, her metal grinding against itself in her own system, "That's not a threat, it's a warning! I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, but I will if you don't do something about it!"

"I think that can be arranged..." Rio pointed her weapon at EVE-L, "Any last words?"

"Yes." she lay her head down, "Thank you."

"No!"

"Huh!?"

"Wall-E!"

He had jumped in the way, arms outstretched.

"Wall-E! Get out of my way!"

"No." he replied stubbornly.

The two of them stared each other down menacingly, no sign of either backing down.

"Wall-E..." EVE-L trembled, "I can't believe it..."

"This is what she wants!" Rio argued, "She wants us to kill her!"

"No! Nooot riiight!" he argued right back. He was getting good at being articulate.

"You want to save me? Still?" EVE-L chuckled, "Wall-E...you are so kind..." she straightened up, a determined frown on her eyes, "Listen, Forthright is trying to use an experimental machine that bends the waves of reality and reads code on the air. That's why you're always ambushed when a new starliner lands!"

"What!?" Aya's hands flew to her screen, "Then that means-!"

"That's right! The more power you have, the more they know! You need to find a way to be more secretive!"

"H-How are you telling us all this!?" Rio asked, incredulous.

"When Wall-E is kind to me, it overrides my directive! Ack! But not forever! I'm in such big trouble!"

Rio heard more enemies gathering around and shot at them, trying to keep them away.

"Wall-E..." EVE-L grasped his hand in both of hers, "Thank you for being kind to me! I don't think I'd ever be able to repay you for it, but I can try! Please! Don't let it go to waste!"

He saw her rise into the air, terror in her red eyes, and he tried to hold her hands tighter to keep her from flying away, but it wasn't enough, she got out anyway.

He didn't know what to do.

He felt powerless.


	14. Chapter 13

"You say what now!?" McCrea gasped.

"That's what she told us!" Rio explained, "We can't land any more starliners! We can't even communicate with them!"

"This is it! We're all going to die..." Rose lamented.

"No! No we're not!" Rio shook with anger, "We hold our ground and we fight til we're victorious!"

"It's no use!" Aya screamed, "We're gonna lose!"

"Quiet! All of you!" Rio's eyes flickered, "We have to keep our heads! Just let me think for a second!"

"If only EVE was here..."

"This is hopeless! More people are dying every day!"

"What can we do!?"

"Should we surrender!?"

"I said QUIEEET!"

Rio looked over the small crowd, her eyes burning, "I've had enough of this! I've already lost Autopilot, and now I'm on the brink of losing Eve! I do not want to hear about everyone I know and love being taken from me!" her voice cracked and she dropped to a whisper, "I just...I..."

"Faaamily!" WALL-E said.

"I know...I know we're a family..." Rio covered her eyes, refusing to cry again.

What would EVE do? What would AUTO have done?

She didn't know, and that's what scared her.

 _"Warning. All systems are failing."_

"Ack!" The captain hurried to the computer, "No! We're all out of power!"

Right on cue, every light on the Axiom went out. All robots connected to the ship were shut off. Not even any distress signals were heard in the intense silence.

"Eve!" Rio held her visor with trembling hands, "No!"

McCrea frowned, "Eve..."

WALL-E shook violently.

"She's gone!?" Aya began to sob dramatically, "NO! My oldest sister!"

"Stop! Shut up! This isn't helping!" Rio cried.

All the EVEs were now crying, their shoulders shaking uncontrollably with their hands on their screens. All their eyes were flickering.

And WALL-E...

"Stop! Stop all of you!" Rio was trying to hold her ground, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to even keep her processor at an even pace, "I said shut up..."

AUTO was dead.

EVE was dead.

And.

They were next.

Loud banging resonated throughout the room, and everyone began to panic. Some were screaming, others held babies tightly. Some were simply manic.

"Wait wait! Hold on!" the captain looked at his screen, "They're not attacking!"

Rio shivered, hugging herself, "It's a siege..."

"A siege?"

"Their going to keep us trapped here until all our supplies run out..." Rio felt physically sick and she didn't even have a stomach, "At this point, we either **surrender or die.** "

Everyone was quiet.

Rio heard a loud rattling sound and so she looked in its direction, "Wall-E..."

He was horror-struck.

"Hey, hey..." Rio took his optics in her hands, "It's okay..."

"E-E-Evvvah..."

"I know I know, hush..." she lifted him up and cradled him gently, "I've got you..."

This was it. They should have stayed in space. At least then they'd be alive. At least then they could find a chance at happiness.

Her sweetheart...her sister...and now her whole family...

"Hope..." she said, "Let's all hope. It's all we can do now."

"Yeah!" Rose turned to the crowd of people and robots, "Everyone! Band together and hope! Hope for everyone! Hope that we can do it!"

"Hope?"

"Hope!"

Everyone was silent, holding hands with loved ones or cradling small children. They all hoped.

Everyone.

Even to their final resting place.

They hope.

"I love you, Wall-E..." Rio sobbed.

"I love you, Rose!" Leah sobbed.

"I love you, Leah!" Aya sobbed.

"I love you, Aya..." Rose sobbed.

"I love you...I love you...I love you..." everyone was talking to someone else, sobbing, holding onto each other for dear life.

They were going to die.

WALL-E nuzzled into Rio, "Looove..."

 _I'll see you soon, Eve..._

 _With our family..._


	15. Chapter 14

Rio huddled into WALL-E and her sisters. Who knew the Axiom could be so cold at night without power? They were in a secluded metal room on the Axiom, huddled together in their final hours. Rio's visor was pressed up against Aya's, and her arm was around her could-have-been brother-in-law. If only they could have gotten EVE to wake up in time, she might have been here with them.

"How much longer?" Leah grumbled.

"I don't know...fifteen minutes?" Rio responded just as begrudgingly.

"Aya, your arm is in my head port." Rose complained.

"Sorry..." Aya replied, shifting her body.

"I'm really scared..." Leah whimpered.

"Oookaaay..." WALL-E comforted her with one arm on her back.

"So am I..." Rio let her hand rest on WALL-E's neck.

"Wwwaaaaaaall-Eeeeee!" M-O came barreling through the room and launched himself into WALL-E's shovel hands. He shook with terror.

"M-Ooo!" WALL-E held the small robot against his solar charge display, "Shhhhh..."

"It's okay, M-O..." Rio soothed, "We're here..."

They sat in heavy silence for a time. They were simply waiting for the word from the captain. Once the humans' very limited rations ran out, they would surrender, and then they would all be mercilessly slaughtered, one by one.

Some had even opted to kill themselves before that time came, afraid of a slow and painful death. Some had starved, having given their rations to loved ones. Some had tried to run away and met resistance, and some lost their minds and were overpowered. Some were put down.

It was the most quiet and desolate mankind had been since the cold war, and that ended over 800 years ago.

The wait was crippling.

Suddenly, loud rattling was heard coming up the garbage chute. Rio took her arm off WALL-E to point her weapon at it, ready to shoot whoever came up to kill them...

The top of the disposal exploded, and out came a very damaged and very dirty sleek search probe.

Rio thought she would faint, "Eve?"

She panted, sheathing her weapon and hurrying to them, "Oh...I missed you guys..."

"You're awake!?" Aya exclaimed, dumbfounded, "Y-You're alive!?"

"Luckily." EVE replied, clearly exhausted.

"EVAH!" WALL-E buried his head beneath her visor, "Evah..."

"I can't believe it! Sis!" Aya squealed.

"When the power went out we thought you would die!" Leah cried.

"Evah!" M-O screeched.

"I'm so happy! Eve!" Rose grinned, laughing.

"Alright, come here..." she gave a hug to all her family members together, "I'm sorry for making you worry...I'm extremely lucky to be alive." she suddenly pulled away, switching to a different tone of voice, "Listen, you guys! I know a way out!"

"A way out?" Rio flattened her digital eyelids, "You mean, besides a loaded gun or a noose?"

"This isn't the time for jokes!" EVE scolded, "Ugh! Just listen! Okay!? I found a loophole in their siege, and if we break through it, we have a point zero one percent chance of victory!"

"That's a specific percentage..." Rose remarked.

"Thanks, I calculated it on the way here." EVE rolled her eyes, "Look, I went through the biggest headache of my life trying to get here, and I'm glad I made it. I need sleep..."

"You stay here and sleep, Eve." Rio said, "We'll find the loophole and take back what is rightfully ours!"

"No, I have to come with you. Does anyone have a charger?" EVE massaged her forehead, "We don't have time for sleep."

"Charging won't stop sleep from happening." Leah reminded her.

"I know that, but it'll at least keep me going for awhile longer."

"Fine. I'll be right back." Rio left the room and came back with a standard Axiom-Class emergency charger, "Don't use it all up in one go."

"I'll be fine..." EVE took the charger and set it on the ground, plugging one cord into her lighter heart and clipping the other to her right pointer finger. She then plugged it into the wall and sighed as the electricity smoothly flowed into her tired motorized battery, "That's much better..."

"So, uh, Eve." Rose asked, "When do we leave?"

EVE felt her heart lurch, so she unconnected herself and frowned in determination, "Right now."

* * *

EVE held still, carefully looking around a corner. WALL-E was in her left arm, boxed completely apart from his head.

"Okay...the coast is clear..." she whispered, "Let's go."

The seven of them escaped the Axiom through the previously mentioned loophole. They kept close to the ground, afraid they'd be spotted if they went up too high. Finally, they made their way to the starliner, A7-B2-CAS. It loomed ominously. This was their last chance. If they botched this, they were all doomed to destruction.

They might as well try.

"Is everyone ready?" EVE asked.

"Yeah yeah, let's just get this over with." Rio brought her weapon out.

"Okay..." EVE clutched WALL-E tighter, "Let's go..."

They hurried into the ship's cargo bay, filled with boxes long forgotten of old materials and building supplies. Many years worth of dust covered everything from top to bottom, suggesting the entire room was untouched for centuries. They continued cautiously.

Everyone's nerves were on fire, nervous of the entire world resting on their shoulders. M-O, WALL-E, and Rose tried not to tremble as they weaved around corridors. EVE glanced around a corner, motioning for them to follow. After several hours of this kind of heavy silence, they found a control panel in the heart of the ship.

It was empty.

"Be careful..." EVE whispered softly. She led them in slowly, her laser trained on everything.

Leah made her way to the computer and easily hacked into its systems. Her fingers worked swiftly, her eyes searching.

"Have you found it yet?" Rose looked over her shoulder.

"Not yet..." Leah expression lit up, "Oh. Found it."

"Activate it. Hurry." EVE hissed.

"Almost got it..." Leah typed vigorously.

"How did you get in here!?"

Everyone turned. It was Forthright and EVE-L.

"DO IT NOW!" EVE yelled.

"Done!" Leah finished typing and hit enter.

 _"Warning. All files formatted. Preparing emergency shut-down."_

"NOOO!"

 _"This ship will self-destruct in two minutes."_

"Eve! Kill them!"

EVE-L shot, and Leah barely dodged, "Let's get out of here!"

"Go!" EVE countered EVE-L's shots and ushered her sisters out, M-O in Rose's arms. All of them bolted, EVE-L close behind. They had to get out before the entire ship exploded. Forthright couldn't keep up however.

 _"What are you doing!?"_ McCrea shouted into their communicators, _"Where in the world are you!?"_

"We've won!" EVE panted, amazed that they had actually pulled it off, "We did it! We flipped the odds!"

 _"Probe One!? You're alive!?"_

"We can celebrate later!" EVE gasped, exasperated, "Come on you guys! HURRY!"

The door ahead of them was slowly closing. Again, they would be locked out if they didn't get there in time.

 _"This ship will self-destruct in one minute."_

EVE gripped WALL-E as tight as she was capable without hurting him. She would not let go this time. In turn, Rose tightened her fingers around M-O.

The door was closing...

Almost...

3...2...1...


	16. Chapter 15

They were suddenly surrounded by flames. Orange and red on every side of them. EVE's head hit the ground in front of them and her thoughts spun violently. Leah landed on her back, Rose on her side with M-O still in her arms, Aya and Rio on top of each other, and WALL-E spun on the top of his box body. The entire starliner was on fire.

WALL-E hurried to lift EVE's head to his eyes while the others gathered around to see if their sister was okay. Rio explained what had happened to the captain while Aya and Leah lifted EVE gently to carry to the repair ward, WALL-E close behind.

EVE-L's eyes widened. She lifted into the air, experimentally flexing her fingers.

Rose shifted M-O to her right arm to reach for EVE-L with her left hand.

 _Come here..._

EVE-L was about to reach for her when lots of smoke swirled around them, spiraling into the air mystically.

Rio felt her breath catch in her throat, "Autopilot?"

It was a ghostly apparition of AUTO.

"How? That's not possible!"

"You can see me?" AUTO asked incredulously.

"My dear Autopilot..." Rio hovered to where his shape hung in the air, "How is this possible?"

"The machine..." EVE said weakly, "The one that reads emissions in the air...it was just barely destroyed..." her mind worked quickly before she passed out, "...Auto died by explosive, so his information stuck in the air..."

"Autopilot..." Rio tried not to cry, but she couldn't help it, "I'm so sorry I didn't get to-!"

"I heard what you said." AUTO replied, "At my grave."

"Y-you did!?" Rio exclaimed, crying harder.

"Yes." AUTO hung in the air closer to her, swirling around her softly, "I feel the same."

"Really?" Rio sobbed loudly, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you! You should be alive right now! This is all my fault!"

"Stop. Do not blame yourself." AUTO retorted, "I saved you, and I do not regret my decision. Please, try to be happy without me."

He began to fade as the sun shone through the data stuck to the air.

AUTO turned his optic off, "Goodbye."

Rio closed her eyes in despair as AUTO planted a small spark right between her eyes. Everyone else watched the intimate moment while Rio felt around him with her arms, her eyes reflecting pain. Finally, AUTO disappeared, leaving behind a clear white mist and a broken Rio, her eyes still closed.

No one moved a muscle while she hovered there, trapped in the moment.

...

Rio lifted her head to the sky before finally turning around to look at everyone else. Her sisters sighed with relief upon seeing a small smile on her LEDs.

She looked on a bit longer before saying simply, "Let's go home."

* * *

WALL-E watched sadly while EVE was stuck on life support again. She either came out damaged but alive, or she died right there in her sleep. There was a very small chance that she wouldn't wake up within the hour, but it still managed to make him fearful for her. He pressed his optics against the glass of the chamber.

"Hey, Wall-E..." Rio hugged him sweetly, "Don't worry about her. Even if she came out dead, you can learn to live without her."

He nodded, "Looovvve..."

"Yes, but you have others."

M-O nudged WALL-E gently, concern in his yellow eyes.

"Y-yeaaah..." WALL-E gave M-O a pat on the head, smiling slightly.

They sat in silence for a beat.

"Hello."

EVE-L.

"I apologize deeply for my mistake. I was being controlled, manipulated. I regret every moment of it."

WALL-E smiled at her, "Fooorgiiive..."

"Thank you..."

"You know..." Aya said, "Eve-L is a pretty condescending name, don'tcha think?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have a nickname? Maybe something else you'd wanna be called?"

"Well..." she thought for a moment, "I've always wanted to call myself...Ruby..."

"Rrrooooobeeeeee?" WALL-E sounded out.

She giggled, "Yeah. After the gemstone. My eyes are red like rubies, see?"

"Roobee!" WALL-E repeated.

"Ruby." Aya nodded, "I like it!"

"So..." Ruby smiled, "Can I be a member of your family too?"

"Yeah!" WALL-E exclaimed with no hesitation.

Everyone laughed.

Ruby gasped, "Really!?"

Leah grinned, "Welcome home, sister."

"Thank you!" she replied, "It feels so good to not always be in pain. I love it!"

"That's wonderful..." Rose took her hand, "I'm glad you're feeling better..."

"Me too." Leah took her other hand.

"Yay! Group hug!" Aya gave all of them a giant squeeze.

"Ack! Aya!" Rio gasped.

Once they broke the hug, WALL-E took a small box out of his trash compactor.

"What's that, Wall-E?" Aya asked.

Ruby placed a finger over her screen and winked, "You'll see in a moment..."

WALL-E lightly tapped on the glass of EVE's stasis pod, opening the box, "Mmmaaarrrreeee?"

All the girl's eyes widened, except for Ruby. There was a small band inside the box, very wide and thin, with a small cut glass piece set on one side.

The capsule began to beep, and EVE was authorized to be taken off life support. Once the capsule was opened up, EVE opened her eyes and slowly turned her head to the side, smiling at WALL-E lovingly. She hovered out of the capsule and extended her left hand.

"Yes."


	17. Chapter 16

Rio rolled her eyes in the dark. Insomnia was so annoying! Why couldn't she just sleep!? Coming out of her dormant form, she noticed that one EVE was missing. Rio shook her head slowly as she headed out of the hole in the roof.

She saw EVE just outside, staring at the ground passively.

"Hey, Eve."

She flinched, turning around, "Oh...hey, Rio..."

"What's wrong? Bad dream?"

EVE tapped her fingers together, "Not really..."

"Hm? Do you have insomnia like me?"

EVE turned away slightly, shaking her head.

"Then what possible reason could you have to be so sad? You're going to get married for crying out loud!"

EVE seemed to cave in on herself, hanging her head in dejection, _I know..._

Rio's eyes widened in realization, "Wait...you're not upset _because_ you're getting married..." she replied in disbelief, "...are you...?"

"Ummm..." EVE laced her fingers together, twiddling her thumbs, "...sort of..."

"What!? Why!? You love Wall-E! He's so excited he could barely go to sleep! Why isn't it the same for you!?"

EVE didn't answer right away. She let the silence hang around them like a thick cloak, averting her gaze to the stars. A soft sound could be heard as EVE had one hand on her shoulder, tapping rhythmically with one finger.

"Eve?"

"C-can you keep a secret?"

Her sister blinked, "What?"

EVE shook her head, "I don't want the others to know this, especially Wall-E."

Rio growled, "You're not backing out, are you?"

She expected her to shout, "No! Of course not!" but to Rio's surprise, she was completely quiet.

Silent as the air around them.

"Eve?" Rio asked, much softer, "What's wrong?"

EVE shook her head again, enough to rattle her circuits, "I...I don't..."

She stopped.

"Yes?" Rio prompted.

"I...don't...d-deserve..."

"Deserve!?" Rio hovered in front of EVE, shaking her shoulders angrily, "What kind of malware did you install, Eve!?"

She gasped, "Rio!"

"No! You listen here!" Rio exclaimed, "My sisters deserve to be happy! You deserve to be loved by someone as wonderful as Wall-E!" her tone was becoming more and more desperate, "You deserve to smile so much it freezes on your visor! You deserve to have a family that never fails to tell you they love you! That sticks by your side and holds your hand!" she was crying now, "You deserve to bathe in praise every day, so don't you _dare_ tell me you don't deserve the best of the best, because you do!"

EVE was speechless. The only sound that could be heard between them were Rio's sharp breaths.

EVE's processor was loud in her ears.

Finally, a wide smile spread across her eyes, "Rio...you really believe that?"

"You better believe I do..." Rio moved her hands from EVE's shoulders to her cheeks, "I don't know what you've been telling yourself, but I assure you it's nothing but lies..." she let her arms fall to her sides, looking at the ground briefly before looking back up with a smile, "Look, none of us would be alive without you. You're brilliant and kind and strong. Never doubt yourself again or I'll yell at you until my hydraulics give out!"

EVE laughed, "Okay, okay..." she let her bright smile fall, "I just saw everything Wall-E has done for me and...I don't know..."

"Hey, the two of you deserve nothing less than each other." Rio assured, "Now let's go back to sleep. Wall-E wouldn't want to wake up without his fiancee!"

EVE giggled, "Right..." she smiled again, feeling a large weight had been lifted off her chest, "Thank you..."

Rio couldn't help but smile back, "Of course..."

THE END


End file.
